Report: Former Jack Adams Award winner may be done, according to GM

It’s not often that a head coach enters the season with no term on his contract. The “lame duck” situations is thought to create an untenable situation that creates unnecessary desperation and leads to rash decision making. But… it appears that’s exactly the situation the Washington Capitals and their head coach Barry Trotz will find themselves in for 2017-18.

When asked about a contract extension for his team’s head coach, general manager Brian MacLellan was blunt:

“We haven't talked anything about contract yet. Maybe we do going forward. I think we're in a period here of uncertainty where we have to drill down some specific stuff. I think we needed improvements throughout our organization, myself included. I think once there's evidence of those improvements, a contract extension could take place.”

There’s a lot of hedging in that statement. Words like “maybe”, “I think” and “could”, don’t really inspire much confidence. To his credit, MacLellan did make a point to praise Trotz’ efforts in 2016-17, but concluded his statements with, “I think it's easy in hindsight for me to be critical, but the coaches make coaching decisions as they go and they have to be held accountable for their results also.” 

If you’re waiting for another run of Barry Trotz in Washington, don’t hold your breath.